The trip to Alaska’s Misty Fjords National Monument was described as a spectacular seaplane adventure allowing sightseers to marvel at the stunning waterfalls, glistening lakes and lush forest.

But the hour-long adventure turned to horror and death when two sightseeing floatplanes collided in mid-air over open water leaving six dead and ten rescued.

One of the dead is a Canadian, although no names of the deceased have been released.

The Coast Guard undertook a massive search and rescue mission with the help of Alaska State Troopers, the U.S. Forest Service, Alaska Department of Fish and Game as well as volunteers.

“In a remote area such as this, given our limited resources, we rely on our partner agencies and appreciate the support that good Samaritans have rendered to this point,” said Capt. Stephen White, Coast Guard Sector Juneau commander. “With the loss of life in this case, we know that the impact to Alaska is immense and our thoughts are with the community here.”

Emergency response crews transport an injured passenger to an ambulance at the George Inlet Lodge docks, May 13, 2019, in Ketchikan, Alaska. The passenger was from one of two float planes reported down in George Inlet early Monday.Dustin Safranek/AP

The sightseers were all passengers from the cruise ship Royal Princess that was on a seven-day trip from Vancouver to Anchorage.

One plane, a de Havilland Otter operated by Taquan Air, was carrying 10 guests from the cruise ship as well as a pilot, and was returning from a tour of the nearby Misty Fjords National Monument, named for the low clouds that cling to sheer cliffs rising from the fjords.

The other aircraft, a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver operated by an “independent tour,” according to the cruise line, carried four Royal Princess passengers and a pilot.

“The Misty Fjords National Monument is home to some of the most dramatic scenery in Alaska, and only by air will you be able to fully appreciate the dramatic beauty of land, slowly crafted by the hands of nature over tens of thousands of years,” says the cruise line in promoting the tour.

The two planes collided Monday at 1:08 p.m. local time, according to Princess Cruises, near George Inlet, about eight nautical miles off Ketchikan.

The Beaver, with five people aboard, including the pilot, broke up in mid-air scattering wreckage over a wide area.

A large part of the plane was partially submerged upside down in seawater, volunteer rescuer Chris John told the Anchorage Daily News.

Three people from the plane were found dead on Monday, and two that were missing were found dead by the Coast Guard on Tuesday.

Nobody's in a life-threatening condition

The Otter was located fairly intact, with survivors reported to have made a “short swim” to the beach from the crash site.

Ten people were rescued and suffered injuries ranging from “arm fractures to ribs to spine to leg,” hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg told the Daily News. “Nobody’s in a life-threatening condition.”

One person died after being unable to escape the Otter as it sank.

“It sank, and the divers dove on that,” Dykens said, according to the Daily News. “This (deceased) individual appears to have had difficulty egressing the plane.”

Coast Guard planes and vessels scrambled a rescue mission after the crash, sending an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and two 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crews from its base in Ketchikan.

The Coast Guard said it was “unaware” of why and how the planes collided. The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to Alaska to investigate.

“We are deeply saddened to report this news and our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their lives and the families impacted by today’s accident,” Princess Cruises said in a statement.

In a statement, Taquan Air said it was “devastated” by the incident and suspended all scheduled flights as it cooperated with investigators, the Daily News reported.

Monday’s collision was the second crash involving Taquan in the area in the past year. In July, after a plane crashed into a mountainside, investigators concluded a pilot turned off a warning system that alerts to such collisions, the Daily News reported. All 11 people onboard survived, though some of them suffered serious injuries.

A 2015 crash in the same area was eerily similar to Monday’s incident.

A plane with cruise line passengers crashed into a mountain while returning from the Misty Fjords National Monument, killing all eight passengers and the pilot. Lax standards and flying despite poor weather led to the crash, investigators concluded, according to the Daily News. The plane was operated by Promech Air. It was bought by Taquan the next year.